Yesterday, I attended Northwest Bookfest 2012 , a festival held this past weekend in Kirkland, WA.  Free to attendees, it celebrates the literary arts and provides a forum to connect readers, writers, publishers, editors and authors.  Attendees can participate in and host workshops, panels, and author readings.  Plus, you can buy more (signed) books than you can carry!

I staffed a booth at the festival with author Tara Sheets. Tara is amazing – it’s always a kick to hang with her and we’re doing complementary blog postings on the topic!  We were at Bookfest supporting the Pacific Northwest Writers Association (PNWA), a non-profit dedicated to helping “develop writing talent from pen to publication through education, accessibility to the publishing industry, and participation in an interactive, vital writer community.”  Tara and I followed Jim Harris and Brian Mercer who worked the booth on Saturday.

Throughout the day, we chatted with festival attendees, described the benefits of PNWA membership, and awarded newly-signed members one of the amazing Author Magazine mugs, rumored to improve writing skills with each use (I’m using Tara’s perfectly staged photo of the mug for this blog).  New members also received a PNWA tote bag and for the brave, an electric, lime-green tee shirt, size large.

It was great to be surrounded by others with a passion for reading (make that, obsession?).  I ran into a couple folks I knew from Vulcan Inc., Betty Mayfield and Christey Bahn.  Some of the other wonderful visitors included:  romance author Deb Schneider, also a tireless Bookfest volunteer, historical romance author Gerri Russell, who taught a workshop on indie publishing, YA steampunk author Ren Cummins, who in addition to writing other books, wrote a series for his daughter with a strong girl protagonist who also likes pretty dresses, historical fiction author Katherine Pym, pilot author Karlene Petitt, Karen Junker, the founder and executive director of Cascade Writers. Also Cynthia White, a development editor, and an author about government and politics, George Scott.  Plus lots that I missed.

A heartfelt thanks to everyone who joined PNWA – member fees enable the organization to operate.  And a shout out to all the volunteers that made Northwest Bookfest possible. Well done!